Álvaro Misael Alfaro Sánchez (born January 6, 1971) is a former Salvadoran professional

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

and currently manager. He ended his career at Isidro Metapán of the

Salvadoran Primera División Salvadorans (), also known as Salvadorians, are citizens of El Salvador, a country in Central America. Most Salvadorans live in El Salvador, although there is also a significant Salvadoran diaspora, particularly Salvadoran Americans, in the Unite ...

in 2010.

Club career

Destroyer

Misael Alfaro started his career at juvenile team of Destroyer La Libertad in 1987.

Alianza

Them he went to Alianza in 1988, and joined Luis Ángel Firpo in 1994 and was soon promoted to starting goalie.

Luis Ángel Firpo

Alfaro had a very successful time with Luis Ángel Firpo, winning several national league titles (1997–98, Clausura 1999, and Clausura 2000), but also losing the final of the Apertura 2001.

San Salvador FC

He left Luis Ángel Firpo for San Salvador FC in 2002, losing the final of the Apertura 2002 but winning the Clausura 2003.

Águila

Then, Alfaro had spells at Águila (2004) and Alianza (2004–2005) before joining Isidro Metapán for a first spell in 2006, to win another league title at the Clausura 2007.

Return to Isidro Metapán

He rejoined Isidro Metapán in 2009, after two short-lived spells at Atlético Balboa (2008) and Nejapa (2009), to win another league title in the Clausura 2010 with the Santa Ana team.

Goalkeeping scoring record

Alfaro was ranked number 8 in the World's Most Successful Goalscoring Goalkeepers of All Time, chart with 31 goals, with 11 of those coming from a

penalty kick A penalty shot or penalty kick is a play used in several sports whereby a goal is attempted during untimed play. Depending on the sport, when a player commits certain types of penalties, the opposition is awarded a penalty shot or kick attempt. ...

Retirement

He announced his retirement from football in August 2010, after suffering a serious neck

injury Injury is physiological damage to the living tissue of any organism, whether in humans, in other animals, or in plants. Injuries can be caused in many ways, including mechanically with penetration by sharp objects such as teeth or with ...

during a game against Atlético Marte. The incident brought a close to his playing career.

Coaching career

After his retirement from football, Misael Alfaro decided to try his luck in the technical staff of different national teams as goalkeeper coach.

Goalkeeper coach of Alianza

Before starting the Apertura 2013 tournament, Alfaro signed as a goalkeeper coach of Alianza, team in which he was only one year working.

Goalkeeper coach of Águila

At the end of his period in Alianza, Alfaro signed as new goalkeeper coach of Águila (2013–2014), time in which he also received his credentials of 'Clase B' coach.

Águila's reserve team

In 2014 Alfaro was appointed as new coach of the reserve team of Águila, making the youth team champion of the Apertura tournament of reserves teams.

Luis Ángel Firpo

In 2015 Alfaro was announced as new goalkeeper coach of Luis Ángel Firpo, team that at that time played in the

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

. After the dismissal of Nelson Ancheta of Luis Ángel Firpo, Alfaro was appointed as the team's new coach, Alfaro's first experience as a head coach in a professional team.

Juventud Independiente

In 2016

Juventud Independiente Club Deportivo Juventud Independiente, also commonly known as Juventud Independiente, is a professional Salvadoran football club, based in San Juan Opico, La Libertad, El Salvador. Founded on 7 September 1943, holding home matches at Complejo ...

bought the category to Luis Ángel Firpo, being administered by the team of Opico. Alfaro retained his charge as coach, but after severe arrears in salary payments he resigned his charge in the team.

Isidro Metapán

In 2017, after the dismissal of Roberto Gamarra as coach of Isidro Metapán, Alfaro was appointed as interim coach. Previously Alfaro worked in the technical staff of Isidro Metapán as goalkeeper coach between 2009 and 2010.

Audaz

In the Clausura 2018 Alvaro was appointed as new coach of Audaz at the time a newly promoted team.

Chalatenango

As October 2018, Alfaro was appointed as new coach of Chalatenango for the Apertura 2018 tournament. With Chalatenango Alfaro it was also goalkeeper coach in 2016. On November 25, Alfaro got to classify the team to play the quarter-finals of the Apertura 2018. In the second leg of the quarter-finals of the Apertura 2018, Chalatenango was defeated by Alianza 0–7 at the

Estadio Cuscatlán The Estadio Cuscatlán is a football stadium located in the city of San Salvador, El Salvador. It was inaugurated in 1976. It can hold 53,400 spectators, making it the Association Football stadium with the largest spectator capacity in Central A ...

International career

Alfaro made his debut for

El Salvador El Salvador, officially the Republic of El Salvador, is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south by the Pacific Ocean. El Salvador's capital and largest city is S ...

in an April 1991

UNCAF Nations Cup The Copa Centroamericana () was an association football competition organized by UNCAF as its top regional tournament for men's senior national teams from Central America. The tournament was held from 1991 to 2017, every two years in the years be ...

qualification match against

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

, and has earned a total of 42 caps, scoring no goals. He has represented his country in 12

FIFA World Cup qualification The FIFA World Cup qualification is a set of competitive matches that a national association football team plays in order to qualify for one of the available berths at the final tournament of the men's FIFA World Cup. Qualifying tournaments ar ...

matchesRecord at FIFA Tournaments
- FIFA in two World Cup campaigns. However, both were unsuccessful, with the national team failing to progress to the final group stages. Also he played at several UNCAF Cups as well as at the

1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup The 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup was the fourth edition of the CONCACAF Gold Cup, Gold Cup, the association football, soccer championship for the member associations of CONCACAF, which governs the sport in North America, Central America, and the Caribb ...

. Álvaro Misael Alfaro announced his retirement from the international games in 2006, after learning of problems with his heart. His final international game was a February 2005

match against

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

Honours

Club

; Alianza * Primera División ** Champion: 1993–1994 ; Luis Ángel Firpo * Primera División ** Champion: 1997–1998, Clausura 1999, Clausura 2000 ** Runners-up: Apertura 1998, Apertura 2001 ; San Salvador FC * Primera División ** Champion: Clausura 2003 ** Runners-up: Apertura 2002 ; Isidro Metapán * Primera División ** Champion: Clausura 2007, Clausura 2010 ** Runners-up:

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alfaro, Misael 1971 births Living people Sportspeople from La Libertad Department (El Salvador) Men's association football goalkeepers Salvadoran men's footballers El Salvador men's international footballers 1996 CONCACAF Gold Cup players 1998 CONCACAF Gold Cup players Alianza F.C. (El Salvador) footballers C.D. Luis Ángel Firpo footballers San Salvador F.C. footballers C.D. Águila footballers A.D. Isidro Metapán footballers Atlético Balboa footballers Alacranes Del Norte footballers C.D. Municipal Limeño managers Salvadoran football managers